


Don't Worry Your Pretty Little Head About It

by orphan_account



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Case Fic, Falling In Love, Fluff, M/M, Slow Build, at least probably later, destiel is pretty background, i guess, it's actually pretty goddamn fluffy so far, samifer is totally consensual and everything, sort of, trying to be good!Lucifer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-10
Updated: 2013-08-29
Packaged: 2017-12-08 02:36:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/756001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lucifer suddenly and abruptly stops visiting Sam in his dreams, and the hunter can't help being a little worried about it. Will Lucifer come back? What happens when he does? </p>
<p>Or the one in which Sam worries too much and Dean doesn't trust anybody (especially not the Devil).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So this is ambiguously season five. It's a work in progress, so we'll see where it goes! Feel free to comment with suggestions/constructive criticism/love!

Sam shifted on the mattress, watching the even rise and fall of his brother's chest. Dean slept like the dead, when he slept. Mostly Sam was just grateful that Dean was sleeping at all. If only he could afford himself the same luxury—but in sleep his mind was open, and the Devil was waiting.

Lucifer was hounding him nightly now, asking for a location, telling him to just give in and make everything easier. It wasn't that Sam was wearing down, exactly, so much as he was having a hard time seeing the point in fighting, sometimes. He was glad to have made up with Dean, and he was wary of the future his brother had seen, but that could have just been a trick, like the office setting Zachariah had zapped them to. And Lucifer was annoying as, well, hell, but some part of Sam couldn't help thinking that maybe if he could just get the Devil to listen, maybe he would be able to reconcile with his brother the same way Sam had reconciled with his. He refused to believe that the apocalypse was as cut-and-dry as the angels seemed to think it was. And if Lucifer really was a parallel to him...well, Sam had done some pretty bad stuff, he'd fucked up pretty damn royally, and Dean had had no reason to forgive him, but he had. Maybe if they could just get Lucifer to _talk_ to Michael, they could head this whole thing off at the pass...

He must have drifted off thinking about it, because the next thing he knew, Lucifer was sitting on the edge of his bed, staring at him earnestly. 

"Hey, Sammy-my-boy!" he said cheerily. "What're we up to tonight?"

Sam rolled his eyes and sat up, leaning against the headboard. "We just raided a vamp nest. I'm not telling you where, though, so don't ask."

"Oh, Sammy, I'm _wounded_. Don't you trust me?" The Devil gestured at himself, affecting an innocent expression.

Sam shook his head, just barely resisting the urge to roll his eyes again. "How can I? You are The Deceiver, after all."

Lucifer sighed dramatically. "Oh. Well, there is that." His expression turned deadly serious. "I'll have you know, though, that I will never lie to you, Sam. You're far too important for that."

"So you say, but even if that were true, there are other ways to deceive."

"But Sam! What need have I to deceive you? You know you'll never stop me on your own, and think of all those innocent people who are dying every day you stall. Let me in, and get your ape of a brother to let my brother in. We'll fight it out, and then it will all be over, no more unnecessary deaths."

"Right. Because you and Michael wouldn't let anyone get caught in the crossfire of your little pissing match. Thanks, but no thanks, Luci."

"Collateral damage." Lucifer shrugged. "If you want to get up on your high horse about that, sure. Some people will die. But compare that to the number of people who will die if you continue to say no? I don't get to say this often, but I think I'm the lesser of two evils."

Sam could help bit snort at that. "Right. And I'm a pink flamingo."

"You want to play your little freedom games with your brother and his pet angel? Fine. But don't look at me when the world comes crashing down around your ears." Lucifer gave him a frustrated look, and then he was gone.

A week passed and Sam hadn’t dreamed again, and he was almost worried. 

When two weeks had gone by without the Devil visiting his dreams, Sam was _definitely_ worried. Not—not because he was concerned about Lucifer, or anything, of course not, but because it meant he had no idea what the Angel was up to. And it definitely had _nothing_ to do with the fact that it was awfully lonely sleeping alone in hotel rooms now that Dean had finally gotten his head out of his ass and gotten a room alone with _his_ Angel.

Regardless of why, he was worried. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if the Devil never visited his dreams again, if the offer was never made again. It was a strange feeling, a disturbing feeling, a feeling he had no idea what to do with. What kind of hunter _worried_ about the Devil?


	2. Chapter 2

After a month with no contact (and no new omens), Sam was at the end of his rope. So much so that even Castiel noticed.

“You seem…exceedingly anxious, Sam,” the Angel commented one evening over dinner.

“Yeah, Sammy, you’re being more of a bitch than normal lately.” Dean was even more juvenile since he’d started getting laid regularly. Sam was happy for them, he really was, but he wished his brother could be more mature about it.

“Shut up, jerk,” he replied reflexively, and then frowned. “I’m doing fine, just worried, you know. There is an apocalypse going on.”

“Yeah, but we haven’t heard anything apocalypse-y for, like, a month—unless the Devil’s still riding your ass about riding your ass.” Dean smirked, stuffing French fries into his mouth.

Sam grimaced. “That’s the problem; he’s not. What if he’s planning something big? At least when he was bothering me, I knew _something_.”

“As Angels, particularly Archangels, are capable of manipulating time, the fact that he was visiting you had little bearing on his ability to wreak havoc.” Castiel frowned, and Dean shoved his plate of fries at him. Cas ignored it (Dean still hadn’t gotten him to do anything more than glare at food, although he kept offering).

“It just makes me nervous. If he’s given up on me, what’s his plan? How long can he stay in that vessel? What will he do when it fails him?”

“If he is careful, that vessel should be able to last him at least another year. After that, if you have still withheld your consent, he will likely find another, equally functional, vessel.”

“Sam, you worry about everything. The way I see it, you and me and Cas can handle whatever old Luci wants to throw our way. Maybe he’s just taking a break—all that death and destruction has to take its toll on a guy.”

“Hmm.” Sam was unconvinced.

Dean rolled his eyes. “Hey, he’s an Angel, right? Have you tried praying to him?”

“Wouldn’t that tell him where we were?”

“Not if you do not explicitly say so. The sigils on your ribs protect you from that.” Castiel picked up a french fry and turned it over in his hand, examining it like he wasn’t sure if it was going to attack him.

Sam sighed. “I’ll have to do that, then.”

“Hey, don’t give me that look! You’re the one who’s worried about the freaking Devil.”

{(O)}

“Dear, uh, Lucifer, um—I don’t know if you can hear me, or what, but, um—can we talk? I haven’t heard from you in a while…” Sam let out a frustrated breath. He sounded like an idiot. “I just—well, see you tonight, hopefully.”

Years of practice had taught him to fall asleep even in the most stressful situations, so despite his anxiety, Sam fell asleep quickly. He didn’t dream.

It quickly became a habit. Every night, after Dean and Cas had gone to their room for the night, Sam would get down on his knees and pray.

“Um, Lucifer, this is Sam Winchester, could I talk to you?”

“My Satan who art on earth, could you spare me a minute?”

“Lucifer, hey, it’s Sam. I want to talk to you.”

“Hi, Lucifer, Sam here. We killed a Wendigo today, and Dean twisted his ankle. Cas was practically out of his mind with worry—he hates that he can’t heal things anymore. He’s been fussing over Dean all day. Dean loves it, of course—he’s been ordering Cas around, all ‘bring me a beer’; ‘carry me to the couch’; ‘get me a burger.’ Anyway, still want to talk, hope to hear from you soon.”

“Lucifer, can we talk, please?”

“Lucifer, I’m worried.”

“Lucifer, I’m worried about you.”

“Lucifer, are you all right?”

“Lucifer, if you can hear me, please do _something_!”

“Lucifer, what’s going on? What happened to you?”

“Lucifer, I know you probably can’t hear me, but I’m really worried.”

“Lucifer, _please_.”

“Lucifer, I miss you.” 

“Lucifer, are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay.”

“Lucifer, I’m worried.”

“Lucifer, I’m _worried_.”

“Lucifer, where are you?” 

“Lucifer, please just _answer me_.”

“Lucifer, I _miss_ you, please be okay.”

“Lucifer, Sam here. I still miss you…come back, okay?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm probably going to publish another chapter today, bc this one is short again, but it might be tomorrow, idk. Comments (especially negative ones—I can always improve!) are appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

Six months since he’d last heard from Satan, Sam had nearly given up hoping for a response, although he was still praying. Dean and Cas had stopped bothering him about it, and he’d stopped mentioning it to them.

“Lucifer,” he prayed, “I’m lonely here without you. If I tell you where I am, will you promise not to kill anyone here? If you come, will Cas know you’re here? I miss you, please come tell me you’re okay.” He sighed and crawled into bed, falling asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

“Hey, Sammy!” Lucifer said from the end of the bed.

Sam bolted upright. “You’re here, tell me you’re actually here.”

Lucifer spread his arms, smiling. “In the flesh. Or, well, spirit.”

Sam was grinning like an idiot, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. “Is it weird that I want to hug you right now?”

“Only if you think so.’

“ _Can_ I hug you right now?”

The Devil spread his arms wider, smiling. “Sure.”

Sam lunged across the bed and wrapped him in his arms. “Where have you been?”

Lucifer chuckled, bringing his arms up behind Sam like hugs were a new thing for him. “Missed me, did you?” 

“Missed you? I was so worried, Luci, my god. I prayed to you _every night_ , couldn’t you hear me?”

Lucifer shook his head. “I’m sorry to have worried you—I honestly didn’t think you’d notice.”

“Not notice? How could I _not notice_?” Sam realized he was yelling, and tried to soften his voice, although his arms tightened around the smaller figure. “You were here every night for months, and then you were gone for half a year! And there’s been no sign of you, anywhere. Where have you been, what’s been going on?”

“I was…thinking. Time doesn’t pass quite the same way when you’re a multidimensional wavelength.”

Sam sat back so he could watch Lucifer’s face, but stayed close enough that their knees were touching. “What were you thinking about?”

Lucifer smiled. “You, mostly.”

“Me?”

“Yes.” Lucifer nodded. “You. You were thinking, the last time we spoke, about how you and Dean had made up so why couldn’t Michael and I. With Dad being a no-show, I started to wonder if you had a point. So, I was thinking about how I might go about approaching Michael. And then I went to talk to him.”

“And?”

“Well, I’m here, aren’t I? It can’t have gone too badly, can it?”

Sam frowned. “Just because you’re alive doesn’t mean it went well.”

Lucifer grinned. “You know me entirely too well already.” His expression fell and he sighed. “You’re right. He basically told me to get out and never come back. But he didn’t kill me, or promise vengeance, so that’s good, I suppose. He said, and I quote, ‘In light of your repentance, you may go now from my presence unscathed. Provided you cease this fruitless torment of the Mud Monkeys, you may serve out your exile on Earth.’”

Sam’s eyes widened. “That’s great!”

Lucifer pouted dramatically. “But I have to stop tormenting you mortals…”

Sam laughed, throwing his arms around the Devil again. “I think you’ll manage. So, wait, does this mean the apocalypse is off? What about your vessel? Do you still need me?” A touch of self-doubt crept into his voice at the end.

Lucifer chuckled, pulling back from the embrace but leaving his hand on Sam’s knee. “Don’t sound so pouty, Sammy! I’m telling you _good_ news! Of course I still need you—I get to keep Nick here as my vessel, but if I’m going to be expected to comingle with you _humans_ , I’m going to need a guide. I was hoping—since, apparently, you _missed_ me—that could be you.” He widened his eyes in an obvious effort to be coy.

Sam grinned. “Really? I’d love to.”

“Great.” Lucifer’s answering grin was blinding. “This does mean you have to tell me where you are, of course.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “I’m in room 12 of the Blue Lake Motel outside Bend, OR.”

“Excellent.” Lucifer took a deep breath like he was going to say something, but changed his mind. Then he patted Sam on the shoulder, pushing him gently back. “Get some sleep, you big lug. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

{(O)}

When Sam awoke the next morning, it was to the sound of the Devil humming Amazing Grace. On the list of surreal things that had happened to him, that one was pretty far up there.

“Morning, Sammy!” Lucifer was sitting in the chair by the window.

“Lucifer?!”

“I told you I’d be here when you woke up, didn’t I?”

Sam was out of the bed and across the room in an instant, the silver knife he kept under his pillow in his hand. “Yeah, but that was a dream, wasn’t it? And dreams can be manipulated.”

Lucifer stood, eyeing the knife and spreading his arms in a gesture of submission. “Go ahead. Although, what kind of creature masquerades as the _Devil_ when it wants to get into your good graces?”

“Oh, shut up,” Sam said as he sliced a shallow cut in the shorter being’s forearm. It healed immediately, and he breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God,” he breathed, practically yanking Lucifer into his arms. “Do you have any idea how worried about you I was? I was _panicking_ , you fuck!” He was shouting into Lucifer’s shoulder as the Angel hugged him back awkwardly. “You couldn’t have taken an instant to pop into a dream and give me an update?”

“I’m—sorry?” Lucifer said the word like he’d never heard it before. “I wanted to wait until I knew how things were going to go. I didn’t realize how much time had passed.”

“I prayed to you every night.” Sam buried his face in Lucifer’s hair and inhaled. “God, it’s good to see you.”

Lucifer tensed slightly and stepped back. “Sam. What exactly is this?” He gestured between the two of them. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to see you, but the last time we talked, you were trying to kill me.”

Sam frowned, considering. Everything had changed in the last six months, but he wasn’t sure exactly how or why. “Well, for one thing, I missed you. For another, didn’t you just tell me you’d stopped all that? Should I be antagonistic to the person—well, entity—who stopped the apocalypse?”

“…no…” Lucifer still looked confused.

“Look. You’re actually really interesting, and we spent so much time together…and Dean’s been spending all his time with Castiel, so I’ve actually been pretty lonely. And maybe I can identify a little bit with wanting forgiveness.” Sam sighed and put his hand on Lucifer’s shoulder. “All I really know is, I missed you something awful when you were suddenly gone, and even before I found out you were trying to reconcile with Michael I was worried about you. I couldn’t have killed you, even then.” He looked at their shoes. “If you’d kept at it just a little longer, I would’ve said yes.”

Lucifer smiled gently. “I know. Why do you think I stopped when I did? I didn’t want to take that from you, to do this to you, not if I could help it. But, Sam, I need you to think this through.” He poked a finger into Sam’s chest. “You’re a hunter. More than that, you’re _Sam Winchester_. You’re the brother of Dean Winchester, who an Angel literally _fell_ for. The son of John Winchester, who never broke in a hundred years of Hellfire. Descended from generations of those who held the line against all that is dark in this world. And you want to throw in your lot with the Devil?”

Sam didn’t even hesitate. “That’s not all you are either.” He smiled and put his hand on Lucifer’s other shoulder. “You’re Lucifer, the Light-Bringer, the Morning Star. The Angel who was closest to God. You endured eons of torment in the darkest pit of hell, and _still_ fought for reconciliation with your brother, thereby stopping the apocalypse. The apocalypse that _I_ started. So, I _have_ thought this through, Lucifer, and I _do_ want to do this.” He slid his hands up to cup Lucifer’s face. “Whatever ‘this’ is.”

Lucifer sighed, leaning into Sam’s touch a little. “Okay.”

Sam’s smiled broadened, and he stepped back, holding out a hand. “Come on, let’s go get some breakfast. And then we can figure out what we’re going to say to Dean and Cas.”

Lucifer took his hand, and together they walked out of the motel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Lucifer's back! Also, the motel Sam mentions is made up, although there is a town called Bend in Oregon. I don't think Blue Lake is particularly near it,though. As always, comments are love!


	4. Chapter 4

Lucifer was staring at his pancakes like they were some sort of dangerous animal that wasn’t entirely friendly, nudging at them with his fork. “I don’t know why you got me these, you knew I wouldn’t eat them.”

“You could try them, you know. If you’re supposed to be mingling, the least you could do is _try_ to act like one of us.”

“But you’re so…disgusting.” He sneered at his plate. “You want me to put flour mixed with cooked embryonic fluids and smothered in fat and tree blood in my mouth, chew it until it becomes textureless mush, then swallow it so my digestive system can process it into waste.”

“Gee, you make that sound so appetizing.” Sam rolled his eyes, reaching across the table to cut off a bite of the pancake. He speared it on his fork, holding it out to the Angel. “Just try it. If you honestly don’t like it, you don’t have to eat any more.”

Lucifer made an exaggerated grimace, leaning forward to bite the bread off the fork. His eyes widened as he chewed. “That’s actually…okay.”

Sam grinned, pointedly ignoring the flutter in his chest at hand feeding the Devil. “Good.”

Lucifer continued eating his pancakes, although he was still tentative. Sam felt smug. Dean had been trying to convince Castiel to eat for the better part of a year, and he hadn’t gotten him to try so much as a French fry.

Which reminded him—“So, Dean and Castiel.”

“They’re not going to be too pleased about me being here, are they?”

Sam shrugged. “Well, they’ll be surprised, certainly. But I don’t know, maybe if we bring it up properly, we can stave off Dean’s freak out.”

“And how would you suggest we do that? It seems to me that Dean is quite prone to ‘freaking out’.”

Sam snorted. “That’s true. But, I mean, he’s got Cas, so it’s not like he can get on my case for trusting someone supernatural. And he can’t deny that the apocalyptic omens have ceased. Also, if you wanted to kill us, we’d be dead by now. The worst he can do is bitch at me for telling you where we are.”

“I appreciate you trusting me with that.” Lucifer smiled and set down his fork. “perhaps it would go better if you inform our brothers of my presence before I show myself.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good plan.”

“It’s certainly less likely to end with me getting stabbed or shot. Which, while entirely non-fatal, is a bit annoying.”

“I’m sure.” Sam grinned again. He knew dean would probably be upset, but for right now, he was just happy to have Lucifer back.

{(O)}

Sam hesitated before knocking on Dean’s door. Despite his earlier enthusiasm, he was pretty nervous about what their reactions would be. Dean was probably going to have a conniption, and Castiel…well, with Castiel it was harder to say. Lucifer was his brother, but that hadn’t stopped him from going up against other Angels before. And while he may not have exactly been on Heaven’s side lately, siding with Lucifer was going directly against everything he’d been taught by the only home he’d ever known. He’d lost so much lately…

The wrapping of his knuckles echoed loudly in the morning stillness. Sam hadn’t thought much about the time, but it seemed like hardly anyone was up. Hopefully they’d be awake…

It took Dean a minute, but he answered the door fully dressed. “Sammy? What’s up?”

Sam stepped around him into the room. Castiel was sitting on the edge of the bed, blinking at him sleepily. “So, Cas is sleeping now?”

Dean shrugged, but the tension in his shoulders screamed defensiveness. “This is only the second time.”

“I find unconsciousness…curious,” Castiel said, looking slightly more awake. It was still weird seeing him in normal clothes, rather than his trench coat get up. “And the return from it more so.”

Dean went to go sit by the falling Angel on the bed, putting a comforting arm around his shoulders. He looked up at Sam expectantly. “Your face says something’s up, Sammy, so spill.”

Sam gave them an indulgent smile before settling into one of the chairs by their table. Now that the two of them weren’t doing the UST dance, they were actually kind of cute. “So, get this: Lucifer’s back.”

Dean’s eyes widened and he tightened his hold on Castiel. “What? You mean you dreamed about him again?”

“Calm down, Dean. Yes, I dreamed about him again. And get this: the apocalypse is off! Apparently he and Michael had a chat, and as long as Lucifer doesn’t do anything devastatingly destructive, he’s free to roam the Earth.”

Dean frowned, but Castiel just looked confused. “What led Lucifer to seek a peaceable resolution?”

Sam felt his cheeks go hot. “I may have talked him into it…”

Dean held up a hand to stop him. “Let me get this straight: you _talked_ the Devil into stopping the apocalypse? Isn’t that his whole shtick? You know, destroying the world, subjugating humanity, all that jazz?”

Sam shrugged. “Maybe it _was_ , but—he’s changed. I think maybe he was just kind of lonely, you know? He hadn’t really talked to anyone in, like, thousands of years. I guess when he thought about it, he was kind of tired of fighting his brothers.”

Dean still looked dubious. “Right. ‘Cause he’s such a family guy.”

Cas nudged him gently. “It is not unreasonable for Lucifer to have had a change of heart in the millennia for which he was imprisoned.”

Sam smiled. “Thanks, Cas.”

“Great, now you’re ganging up on me.” Dean rolled his eyes. “Fine, okay, whatever. Lucifer’s loose, the apocalypse is off. Sounds like it’s not our problem anymore, right? I can get behind that.”

Sam shifted nervously. “Well, actually…”

Dean’s expression shifted to outraged incredulity. “Oh, God, Sammy, I do not want to know where that sentence is going. Tell me you didn’t do anything stupid.”

Sam made a face. “He can’t _do_ anything to us, because, you know, Michael, and, well, he said he wanted someone to experience earth with—”

“Sam, if you tell me Lucifer is in your room, I swear to God I will punch you in the face.”

“Um, well, actually, he’s just outside.”

Dean covered his face with his hands, and Castiel looked at him in concern. “Sam, perhaps it would be better to resume this conversation at a later—”

“No, it’s okay, Cas.” Dean looked up with a hard expression. “I wouldn’t mind giving that bastard a piece of my mind.”

“Try not to be too hard on him—he did just stop the apocalypse, after all.” Sam turned back towards the door. “Lucifer, you can come in now.”

The door opened slowly to admit a surprisingly timid Lucifer. “Dean,” he said, nodding his head respectfully. He turned to Castiel and gave a little bow. “Brother.”

Castiel bowed in return (Dean was glaring silently from his side). “Brother. It pleases me to learn of your…epiphany.”

Lucifer gave him half a smile. “Thank you.”

Dean’s glare had intensified to the point where it could no longer be contained by his face. “Lucifer,” he growled.

“Dean, don’t be a jerk.” Sam stepped closer to Lucifer. “He’s having a hard time right now, the least you could do is _act_ like you approve.”

“Dammit, Sammy, how many times are we going to have to go through this? Hell is not your friend. Demons are not your friends. _The Devil is not your friend_.”

Sam let out an exasperated sigh, and the Angels looked at each other in concern.

“Dean.” Castiel rested a hand on his leg. “Perhaps it would be best for you to ‘cool off’ a bit before we continue this conversation.”

“And leave Sammy alone with the Devil?”

“I will stay with them until you return.”

Dean huffed, but stood up. “Fine. But if Ol’ Luci here harms a hair on either of your heads, I’m gonna call Michael down and have one mother of a shindig.” He stomped out the door, slamming it behind him.

“Well,” said Lucifer. “That went well, I thought.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry Dean's being such a bitch, but I kind of think he would be, after the fiasco that was Ruby. And Sam's a little overprotective,but that's Sam for you. Next chapter we finally get to the reason this is tagged "Case Fic" Yay!


	5. Chapter 5

Sam wasn’t sure exactly how it happened, but by the time Dean came back (only ninety minutes later), Castiel was eagerly explaining to Lucifer how to work the television and Sam was _still_ trying to pick up all the playing cards from their disastrous attempt at playing poker. He felt remarkably like a babysitter, except the beings he was babysitting were thousands of years old.

Dean walked in and held up a playing card that had been stuck in the door. “Does somebody want to tell me what the Hell is going on here?”

All three of them looked at him sheepishly, and Cas clicked off the TV. “Hello, Dean.”

Dean’s expression softened slightly. “Hey, Cas. What’s up?” He waved the card—the four of diamonds, not that it mattered—for emphasis.

“Sam attempted to teach my brother and I how to play poker—”

“—and Lucifer got a little upset.” Sam had gone to stand behind them, resting a hand on Lucifer’s shoulder. “It’s fine,” he added, softer, when the Archangel looked like he was going to apologize.

“O—kay, this is officially weird.” Dean raised his eyebrows.

Sam rolled his eyes. “No freaking duh, Dean. But, I mean, you’ve been sleeping with an Angel for months, so…”

“Dear God, Sammy, please tell me you’re not fucking _sleeping with_ Lucifer?”

Sam turned bright red, and jumped back from the couch like he’d been burned. “No, no, of course not, fuck, _no_. No, I was just trying to say that this isn’t really _that_ weird, at least not for us. Weird is kind of our normal, you know?”

“The Devil, Sam?” Dean sighed, sinking onto the bed. “The _Devil?_ ”

Lucifer’s quiet voice nearly made Sam jump. “Dean Winchester,” he pronounced dramatically. “You need not fear. I mean your brother no harm, nor do I mean my brother any harm. I will only harm you if you provoke me. I am here to observe, only. Though, if you mean to teach me the error of my thoughts about humanity, Sam, I don’t know how much time we should be spending with your brother.”

“Hey!” Sam smacked Lucifer’s shoulder lightly. “He’s joking,” he said to Dean.”

“I was?” Lucifer looked back over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow.

Sam couldn’t help a soft smile from curling up the edges of his mouth. “Yes. Joking. Because rule one of dealing with humanity is don’t insult people who are important to your friends. And Dean is my brother, so you can be damn sure he’s important to me.”

“Dude, did you just say you were _friends_ with the devil?”

Sam shrugged, putting his hand back on Lucifer’s shoulder. “His name is Lucifer.”

Dean stared at the three of them for a second, and then doubled over, sides shaking.

“Dean?” Castiel was at his lover’s side in an instant, pulling him close. “Dean, are you well?”

“I’m peachy, Cas.” He straightened, and it was clear he’d been laughing. “God, Sam, couldn’t I just get you a puppy or something? You just had to go and save something, didn’t you?” He shook his head. “Fine, Lucifer, you can stay, but if you hurt either of them, I _will_ kill you.”

Sam grinned, (Castiel really was a good influence, if Dean was giving in this early) but Lucifer’s eyebrow was up again. Sam leaned forward and hugged him over the back of the couch.  “I told you he’d be cool with it.”

Dean harrumphed. “Okay, that’s enough of the chick-flick shit. You got any leads on that kelpie?”

Sam sighed, vaulting over the couch to sit beside his Angel—er, Lucifer. Cas may have been a good influence, but Dean was still an emotionally constipated idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took forever and was so short--my keyboard has been on the fritz, and so i kept rage-quitting instead of typing. I have another couple chapters written in a notebook, but the keyboard situation has not improved, so...  
> Thanks for sticking with me!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this is so late, but I finally got a new laptop and hopefully will be much better about typing this thing in.

“Witnesses claim they saw a ‘creepy green horse’ luring our vic into the water. He’s the fourth mysterious disappearance by the lake in the last three months, but the first with any witnesses.”

“And what were these people doing, that they saw this guy get nabbed?”

“Some church group that brought all their high schoolers up for spring break—they were all camping in the woods near there, apparently. This guy was one of the chaperones.”

Lucifer shifted slightly. “There is no Kelpie in the lake.”

Everyone stared at him. “Did you just check?” Sam asked, with a raised eyebrow of his own.

Lucifer nodded, looking confused. “It seemed the expedient thing to do.”

Dean glared at the two of them. “So can you use your mojo to figure out what’s taking these people?”

Lucifer shook his head. “I need somewhere to look, first. And my...mojo...isn’t what it once was; I imagine Michael is dampening it in some ill-informed attempt to control me.”

“Look, I don’t care about your douche-bagel brother, I just asked a question.”

Lucifer stood up to turn the full power of his gaze on Sam’s brother. “Do not tempt me, mortal.”

Sam grabbed his arm and pulled him back down onto the couch. “Calm down, Luce, Dean’s just being a dick. Dean, stop antagonizing my friend.”

Dean huffed, but Cas’s hand on his shoulder stopped him from commenting. 

“Perhaps,” Castiel said, looking at Dean appraisingly, “it would be better to be...separate for this hunt.”

Sam smiled gratefully. “Good plan, Cas. Why don’t you and Dean go check out the lake, see if there are any hints as to what this might be, and Lucifer and I can go interview those high schoolers.”

Dean grimaced. “Fine. Great. You go party it up with the Devil.”

Sam bit his lip to stop his response, and met Castiel’s eyes. Hopefully he’d be able to bring Dean around, at least a little. “See you back here at three, then?”

Dean nodded, and Sam followed Lucifer out the door, closing it behind them.

“Are you okay?” he asked Lucifer as they walked back to their—his room.

Lucifer looked at him incredulously. “Am _I_ okay? That was nothing—my own brothers have said far worse things.”

Sam unlocked the door, starting for the closet before pulling up short. “If we’re going to be interviewing kids, you’re going to need something to wear.”


	7. Chapter 7

And that was how Sam Winchester found himself shopping for suits with the Devil (he wondered if he would ever get used to doing things with Lucifer to the extent that it wouldn’t sound absurd. Because seriously, you try thinking “I ate breakfast with Lucifer” and not having it sound crazy or evil). He and Dean usually got their suits at whatever department store was cheapest, but the local mall had a fancy suit store close to where they’d landed (Lucifer had flown them), and Lucifer walked in before Sam could say anything. So, now they were in a store that made Sam feel low-class just looking in the window, looking at suits that coat more money than Sam had ever had. On the one hand, this made Sam feel really uncomfortable and he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. On the other hand, Lucifer looked _good_ in a suit, and he was pretty sure he’d be able to look at that sight indefinitely.

Eventually Lucifer picked out a suit he liked (a deep charcoal gray that really brought out his eyes) and then they were on their way.

“Remember,” Sam said from the bathroom as he put on his own suit, “these are kids, _Christian_ kids, so try not to be too...” He paused, looking for the right word.

“Me?” Lucifer suggested.

Sam snorted. “Yeah—well, no, just keep in mind that they don’t know anything about this supernatural stuff, and that telling them who you are is probably a bad plan.” He stepped out of the bathroom and saw Lucifer’s incredulous expression. “Hey.” He moved to stand in front of the angel, resting a hand on his shoulder. “I’m not asking for a total revamp, I’m asking you to not purposefully terrify a bunch of teenagers. Okay?”

Lucifer sighed, looking down but bringing a hand up to cover Sam’s. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Sam grinned. “Then let’s go.”

{(O)}

The youth pastor who had been leading the trip (a young man by the name of Josiah) was more than willing to give them a list of names and addresses for everyone who’d gone to the lake. “I just can’t believe something like that happened!” 

“Were you and Alex close?” Sam asked sympathetically.

Josiah shook his head. “I mean, I saw him every Sunday and most Wednesdays, but he was closer to the old youth pastor.” He shrugged. “I mean, I’ve only been working here for six months.”

Sam nodded. “Thanks for the help—we’ll get back to you if we have any questions.”

“Great.” He gave them a weak smile. “I hope you figure out what did this.”

Sam smiled, nodded, and grabbed Lucifer’s arm to steer him out of the church.

Once they were outside, Lucifer let out a huge sigh. “Well, it’s been a while since I’ve been in one of _those_. At least, when I wasn’t destroying it, that is.”

Sam laughed. “I bet. How’d it feel?”

Lucifer gave him a smile. “Not as bad as I would’ve expected. Perhaps...perhaps it really has been long enough. I am awfully tired of fighting, Sam.”

Sam slung an arm around his shoulders as they walked away from the church. “I know. That’s why you’re here, right?”

“Exactly.” Lucifer relaxed slightly against him, and Sam tightened his arm around him.

“We’re going to make this work,” Sam said, no longer sure who he was reassuring.

“I know.” Lucifer sighed, shrugging out from under Sam’s arm and raising two fingers to Sam’s forehead. “Are you ready?”


End file.
